Water Kefir Beet Kvass

By now, you have likely heard about all the beneficial bacteria and yeast found in home fermented water kefir and maybe even beet kvass. What you probably haven't heard, is how to use that sweet little fizzy drink to mask all the other, less palatable, healthy liquids that you want your children to consume.

Deceptively Delicious or Not?

Did I get your attention? I'm not a fan of "Deceptively Delicious" style cooking as I think that deteriorates your child's trust in you. True story: My oldest found out I had been hiding things inside foods she liked and stopped eating anything she didn't watch me cook for weeks. Then she found out that her favorite foods (without the deceptive spin) had things in them that she thought she hated. UGH! It resulted in her refusing, even more, foods than before.

Water Kefir to Improve Taste

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I use our basic water kefir to flavor other things like herbal infusions and beet kvass. You could also use it for homemade elderberry tincture, master tonic and any other tincture or remedy you may want you child to drink that has an undesirable flavor. Adding sweet carbonation to most of those things results in an easy-to-drink mixture. Here is a simple concoction to try: beet kvass water kefir.

Where to Buy Water Kefir Grains

If you don't already have water kefir grains, I recommend trying to find some locally. We also like purchasing cultures from Kombucha Kamp if you cannot find any from a local source.

Beet Kvass Recipe

Below is my recipe for beet kvass. Once your kvass is ready--simply pour 2-4 oz of kvass in a glass and top it off with as much water kefir as you need to make the beet kvass palatable. Let me know if you try it and how you children like it!

Try some of our other home ferment recipes including probiotic pizza.

Beet Kvass Water Kefir

Recipe Type: Probiotic Ferment/Beverage
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 48 hours
Total time: 48 hours 10 mins

Ingredients
1.5 lbs beets, washed and sliced
1/8 C water kefir
1 tsp sea salt
filtered water

Instructions
Wash beats. Slice or chop. We usually slice.
Place beets in a large jar or fermenting crock
Sprinkle with the salt.
Cover with filtered water
Add water kefir
Stir gently
Set aside for 48 hours. Avoid leaving it in direct sunlight or in the hottest part of your kitchen.
Strain.
Fill Grolsch or similar fermented beverage bottles half-way with beet kvass.
Top off with finished water kefir.
Seal the top and place in the fridge.